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State ignores the right of citizens in polls The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 05/11/2009 9:14 AM The failure of up to 40 percent of voters unable to cast ballots in the legislative elections is evidence of massive violation of citizens' right to vote by the state, the National Commission on Human Rights has found. The findings saw rampant discrimination against certain groups of voters, including students living outside their hometowns, hospitalized patients, fishermen, migrant workers, transvestives, sex workers and Chinese-Indonesian communities. Commissioner Yoseph Adi Prasetyo said for sure many of about 50 million mentally ill people lost their right to vote. "Who hold the right to determine whether they are eligible to vote or not? The polls officials? The district officials? They neither have the capabilities nor consult with health experts.," Yoseph told a media conference on Friday. The findings followed an investigation conducted in 10 provinces, 22 regencies and municipalities and 19 villages and subdistricts, starting from a week prior to the April 9 legislative elections. The investigation will run until the presidential election on July 8. The commission also found chaotic administration and the absence of a special policy on election budget had exacerbated the flawed election process. Chairman of the commission Ifdhal Kasim said the President, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the House of Representatives and the General Elections Commission (KPU) in particular were responsible for the massive violations. Yoseph said the commission urged the KPU to give those who lost their right to vote a chance to exercise their constitutional right. For that purpose, the commission recommended that the president issue a government regulation in lieu of law on special election, which may coincide with the presidential election. Other recommendations included an official apology from the government and KPU to the citizens who had their right to vote ignored. The commission also asked the government and the House to amend the law on civil administration and the Ministry of Finance to treat elections as special projects in order to cut the complicated bureaucratic procedure of funding. Learning from the mistakes in the legislative elections, the commissio urged the KPU to change its approach in voter registration for the presidential election. "The KPU, for example, should take an affirmative action to collaborate with universities to help students having trouble to register themselves," Yoseph said. "The solution is for the polls officials to be actively facilitate eligible voters to register themselves. They cannot expect the citizens to check their presence in the voter list themselves." Like in the legislative elections, the KPU has asked voters to check with their respective neighborhood chiefs if they are in the list. "It's entirely the the responsibility of the state to make sure voters are registered," Yoseph said.
